istoryworld
All Events
Giovanni Domenico Cassini, working in the Paris royal observatory, calculates the distance from the earth to the sun and is only 7% out
Charles II issues a Declaration of Indulgence, suspending the restrictions on Catholics and Nonconformists
Isaac Newton's experiments with the prism demonstrate the link between wavelength and colour in light
John Bunyan is released from Bedford Gaol as a result of the Declaration of Indulgence
The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb begins building the great Badshahi Mosque in Lahore
Molière falls fatally ill when acting in his own play Le Malade Imaginaire
Sébastien de Vauban's new technique for conducting the siege of a town shows its effectiveness at Maastricht
Parliament in England passes a Test Act excluding Catholics and Nonconformists from public office
The house, later known as Radnor House, is built, probably by John Hooker.
The Dutch scientist Anton van Leeuwenhoek builds a microscope powerful enough for him to observe and describe the red corpuscles in blood
Samuel Sewall begins a diary of daily life in Boston, Massachusetts, that will span a period of more than fifty years
Dutch traders purchase Kakiemon wares in Japan for import to the Netherlands
Christiaan Huygens, inventor of the pendulum clock, now develops the hairspring - of great future importance in watches
The double-hung sash window is introduced in England and soon spreads to Holland
The house of West Hall is built for let, probably by Thomas Juxon, lord of the manor, to be followed by the house of Brick Farm
A sudden uprising by the Wampanoag Indians against the new England settlements begins the conflict known as King Philip's War
Ole Roemer, a Danish astronomer working with Cassini in Paris, calculates the speed of light with an error of only 25%
John Bunyan is imprisoned again, for about six months, in a new wave of persecution of Nonconformists
With his powerful new microscope Leeuwenhoek observes spermatozoa in the semen of a dog
Baruch Spinoza's Ethics, dealing with God, the mind and the emotions, is published shortly after his death
Wren completes Monument to commemorate Fire
The Popish Plot, an invented Jesuit conspiracy to kill Charles II, results in the execution of about thirty-five Roman Catholics
Part I of The Pilgrim's Progress, written during John Bunyan's two spells in Bedford Gaol, is published and is immediately popular
Christiaan Huygens expounds the theory that light consists of a vibration forming a ripple of waves
The rival political parties in Britain find abusive names for each other - Whigs and Tories
